Outland Is Among The Next Batch Of Xbox One Backwards Compatible Games

Microsoft is continuing to roll out new games for the backwards compatible feature on the Xbox One. The two latest games to join the system's ever-growing portfolio of Xbox 360 games includes the platformer Outland from 2011 and Gunstar Heroes from the Sega Genesis.

Gamespot explained that both games can be played on the Xbox One right now. If you already have both games on your Xbox Live profile you can instantly start downloading the digital titles by finding them on the Xbox One's store page and clicking on “Install”. If you don't own either game but you still want to play them, you can buy them from the new Xbox store section specifically for backwards compatible titles.

I honestly don't remember Outland all that much, but it was designed by HouseMarquee with the help of Ubisoft. It's a platformer that uses the silhouette art-style, contrasting a lot of dark foreground imagery with beautifully rendered backdrops with a sort of surreal idealism etched into their design. It's a classically made action-platformer that fans of Super Mario and Super Metroid would easily appreciate, complete with platforming puzzles, bosses and plenty of obstacles to overcome. Gamers can now experience the title on the Xbox One thanks to the backwards compatibility.

The second game is a lot more renown; a classic hewn into the annals of action-platforming history. I'm talking about Treasure's legendary Gunstar Heroes, which was re-released on the XBLA for the Xbox 360. I was never much of a fan of the game back when it first came out, nor in the years that followed. However, what stood out about Gunstar Heroes was that over time the title began to grow its fan base, and gain a lot of recognition simply because no new games ever managed to achieve what Treasure did with the original. While Treasure went on to make similar games, nothing quite captured the projectile-based, smash-style melee action that they brought to the table back in 1993 with the original Gunstar Heroes.

What's more is that for some reason Treasure's classic was hardly ever capitalized on to make bigger and better games with a similar style. The closest thing we got in the newer generation of consoles would probably be Vanquish from Platinum Games. Either way, you can relive the original classic for the Sega Genesis on the Xbox One now that Microsoft and Sega have made Gunstar Heroes available via backwards compatibility.

Microsoft has been consistently rolling out new game after new game for the Xbox One's backward compatibility mode, and gamers are loving it.

It's amazing to see communities actually excited about an Xbox One feature, something that is rare in today's gaming scene given how much Microsoft screwed the pooch with the original DRM policies that nearly halted all of their momentum that they had built up over the years with the Xbox 360.

Microsoft now has to work hard to regain the trust of the community by doing everything in their power to pump out quality games and software, as well as capitalize on features to help make the Xbox One stand out amongst its competitors.